Concepts of the North take account of perceived "northern" regional accents. Experts on historical dialects categorise as northern the area north of a line that begins at the Humber estuary, and runs up the River Wharfe and across to the River Lune in north Lancashire.[3] However, the linguistic elements that traditionally defined this area, such as use of doon instead of down and substitution of -ang noise in words that end -ong (lang instead of long), are now prevalent only in the more northern parts of the region; these linguistic features may reflect a more modern interpretation of where the line sits today. As speech has changed, there is little consensus on what defines a "northern" accent or dialect.

Many people in Yorkshire and north Lancashire omit certain sounds from sentences in casual speech, such as saying "I'm goin t'shops" or "I'm going the shops" as opposed to "I'm going to the shops."[citation needed] This much-lampooned speech habit is often misunderstood or misrepresented. The "t'" is usually more of a glottal stop—and it replaces "the" entirely when the next word begins with a consonant: "I'm going to t'shops" is often rendered in mimickery with the "t'" sounded distinctly. This is actually very unusual in natural northern speech. The "t" should be silent, represented by almost a stutter. Exceptions to this occur when the next word begins with a vowel: "Put pie in th'oven" would not sound the "t'" (as described above) but would run the "th'" audibly into "oven". This would give a word sound "thoven", just perhaps with a slight stop between "th" and "oven".

The north of England may also be considered as the area (from coast to coast) surrounding the Pennines, an upland chain often referred to as "the backbone of England". This stretches from the Cheviot Hills on the border with Scotland to the Peak District. The areas defined were formerly dominated by heavy industry and mineral extraction and processing. Combined with the characteristically wild, hilly landscape of the region, this has led to the popular belief, mainly by those from the south of England, of it being "grim up North".

It is an area of contrasting landscapes. There are several urban belts, many of which join to form one larger belt that runs from Liverpool to Leeds along the M62 corridor, then south to Sheffield along the M1 corridor. There are further agglomerations in the north-east and east of Preston. Around 11 million people live in the area covered by the Northern Way, most in its largest cities Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bradford and Manchester.

After the arrival of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, the north was divided into rival kingdoms, Bernicia and Deira. Bernicia covered lands north of the Tees, whilst Deira corresponded roughly to the eastern half of modern-day Yorkshire. Bernicia and Deira were first united as Northumbria by Aethelfrith, a king of Bernicia who conquered Deira around the year 604.[6] An area east and west of the Pennines was divided into two Celtic kingdoms, Rheged (Cumbria and Lancashire) and Elmet (West Riding of Yorkshire).[7] The north of England forms a large part of the Hen Ogledd, Welsh for 'Old North'. The north-west of England still retains vestiges of a Celtic culture, and had its own Celtic language, Cumbric, spoken predominately in Cumbria until around the 12th century.

Parts of the north and east of England were subject to Danish control (the Danelaw) during the Viking era, but the northern part of the old Anglo Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, remained under Anglo-Saxon control.[8] Viking control of certain areas, particularly around Yorkshire is recalled in the etymology of many place names and surnames in the area. Anglo-Norman aspirations in the Pale of Ireland have some roots in the Viking forays on the Irish Sea and the trade route which ran from York and crossing the Edinburgh-Glasgow area in Scotland, to Dublin in Ireland.

Historically the north was controlled from London by the Council of the North, based at the King's Manor, York, set up in 1484 by Richard III.[9] However the major decisions affecting the north of England have been made entirely in London since this institution was abolished in 1641.[10]

As the centre of the industrial revolution, northern England has long been characterised by its industrial centres, from the mill towns of Lancashire, textile centres of Yorkshire, shipyards of the north-east to the mining towns found throughout the north and the fishing ports along both east and west coasts. However, whilst much of the south and east of England has in general prospered economically, the north and west have remained relatively poor; consequently there are currently many government-subsidised urban regeneration projects happening across northern towns and cities, aiming to redress the lack of private investment in the area. Five of the ten most populous cities in the United Kingdom lie in the north.

The picture is not clear-cut, however, as the north has areas which are as wealthy as, if not wealthier than, fashionable southern areas such as Surrey. Yorkshire's "Golden Triangle" which extends from north Leeds to Harrogate and across to York is an example, as is Cheshire's Golden Triangle, centred on Alderley Edge.[11] Equally, counties such as Cornwall share the relative economic deprivation often associated with parts of the north.

The flat cap stereotypically associated with Northern England and still worn today.[12]

The North of England is often stereotypically represented at events or stage performances through the clothing worn by working-class men and women during the 19th and early 20th centuries,[13] especially by those working in factories, mines and farms. Men would often wear a collar shirt or grandfather shirt, and trousers with a waistcoat or jacket along with a flat cap.[14] Women would wear a dress, or a skirt and blouse, with an apron on top as protection from dirt; in colder months they would often wear a shawl.[15] If not wearing leather lace-up shoes, some men and women would have worn English clogs, which were hardwearing (especially in factories with machinery)[16] and would therefore last a long time. As a result of wearing them for periods of time, a type of folk clog dance referred to as clogging was intricately developed in the north.[17] Traditional morris dancers in the North West of England would also wear clogs when morris dancing. Clothing was modest but respectful and consisted of plain material such as cotton or wool produced from the factories in the area. The clothing worn at the time has inspired fashion today, including the flat cap which is still worn by some men,[18] and clogs which are today made out of lighter materials and have evolved into other forms such as clog sandals and heels. It has also inspired songs such as "She's a Lassie from Lancashire" by Florrie Forde.

^"The Old English word Dene ‘Danes’ usually refers to Scandinavians of any kind; most of the invaders were indeed Danish (East Norse speakers), but there were Norwegians (West Norse [speakers]) among them as well." —Lass, Roger, Old English: A Historical Linguistic Companion, p.187, n.12. Cambridge University Press, 1994.